One of my favorite things about quilting is seeing how a pattern can become something completely personal in the hands of the person making it.
Recently, I asked Barb Clarine if she would share a photo of her finished Home Town Quilt by Lori Holt. When her picture arrived, I immediately started looking closely at all of the little details she had changed.
This is still unmistakably the Home Town Quilt—but Barb made this Home Town her home town.
What I especially love is that Barb didn’t simply change fabrics or colors. She looked at the individual blocks and asked how she could make them represent pieces of her own life.
Can You Spot Barb’s Changes?
Before I tell you what Barb changed, take a look for yourself.
Below is the original Home Town Quilt followed by Barb’s version. Some of her changes immediately stand out, while others are wonderful little details you might not notice until you look closely.
How many can you spot?
The Original Home Town Quilt
Barb’s Home Town Quilt
Some of the changes are subtle. Others completely change the story being told by a block.
And every one of them has a reason.
A Quilt Filled With Pieces of Barb’s Story
Barb was born and raised in Minnesota and moved to Utah when she was 36. As she worked on her Home Town Quilt, she found ways to incorporate pieces of both places, along with her family, interests, and memories.
Here are the changes Barb made—and the stories behind them.
The Beehive House: Barb left off the original bee but kept the beehive, then added lots of little metallic bees that she glued and sewed onto the quilt.
The Topiary House: She moved the topiary to the side and added a lady slipper, Minnesota’s state flower—a connection to the state where she was born and raised.
The Teacup House: Barb doesn’t drink tea, so a teacup didn’t feel like her. She replaced it with a sewing machine instead. As she told me, she sews TONS!
The Flag House: Barb kept this one simple, leaving off the flower from the original design.
The Cherry House: Since Barb doesn’t eat many cherries, she replaced the cherries with a plane to represent something much more meaningful to her—her family’s love of travel.
The Fireworks House: Barb added a black Lab. Her family has had four black Labs over the years.
The Strawberry Block: This is one Barb intentionally left the same. She lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah, where Strawberry Days are celebrated every June, so the strawberries already had a special connection to home.
The Sheep House: Sheep didn’t have any particular meaning to Barb, so she replaced the sheep with a loon. The loon is Minnesota’s state bird, and Barb especially loves their distinctive call.
The Tulip Tree: Barb moved the house over and replaced the original element with hearts for a wonderfully simple reason—she loves hearts!
The Bird Tree: She reversed the design and the trees and added a hummingbird to the sky. Barb has a hummingbird feeder outside her kitchen and loves watching the birds when they come to feed.
The Sunflower House: Sunflowers didn’t have a special connection for Barb, so she replaced them with the shapes of Utah and Minnesota, representing her move from Minnesota to Utah.
The Pineapple Tree: This may be my favorite story. Barb completely left out the pineapple and replaced the large flower with Paul Bunyan. A similar Paul Bunyan statue sits on the waterfront in her hometown of Bemidji, Minnesota.
When you know the stories behind them, these aren’t simply changes to a quilt pattern. They’re little pieces of Barb’s life stitched throughout her quilt—where she grew up, where she lives now, animals her family has loved, places she’s traveled, things she enjoys, and memories of home.
That’s what makes this quilt so special.
Instead of simply recreating the original quilt, Barb created something that tells you a little about who she is, where she came from, the things she loves, and the life she has lived.
Your Quilt Doesn’t Have to Look Exactly Like the Pattern
I think Barb’s quilt is a wonderful reminder of something that can be easy to forget when we’re following a pattern:
The pattern can be the beginning of your idea—not the end of it.
Change a flower. Add your pet. Represent somewhere you’ve lived. Include something you love doing. Change a block simply because the original doesn’t mean anything to you.
Those little decisions can turn a beautiful quilt pattern into something that tells your story.
That’s exactly what Barb has done here.
When I asked if I could share her quilt and her story on the Justin Fabric blog, Barb told me:
“I’m honored to have you even think of sharing my quilt on your blog.”
Barb, the honor really is mine. Thank you for allowing me to share your beautiful work and, especially, for taking the time to tell me the stories behind your changes.
Now I’d Love to See What You’ve Made
This is something I want to do much more often at Justin Fabric.
I don’t want this blog to only be a place where I tell you about new fabrics, collections, kits, and patterns. I want it to become a place where quilters inspire other quilters.
Have you made a quilt from fabric, a kit, or a pattern you found at Justin Fabric? Did you change the pattern? Choose a completely different color palette? Add something meaningful? Or make something you’re simply especially proud of?
Tell me about it in the comments below.
Have you ever changed a quilt pattern to make it more personal? What did you change—and why?
And if you have a quilt you’d like to share, send me a photo at sales@justinfabric.com. I would love to start featuring more of what our Justin Fabric community is creating.
You don’t need a professional photograph. You don’t need to be an expert quilter. And your quilt certainly doesn’t have to be perfect.
I’d simply love to see what you’ve made.
You may just give another quilter the idea or encouragement they need to make something of their own.
— Justin
